Hello,

I am interested in finishing out a BBO, BB-IPE, or BB-hickory R/D longbow. I don't have the time or inclination currently to laminate one myself. I have only make self-bows. I do, however, want to start with the best blank available. Tight grained wood backing, good bamboo, good glue line, etc to end up with a bow ai can trust hunting. I was wondering if someone here could point me in the right direction? I've done a bit of searching and came up dry. I'm looking to make a bow that finishes in the 60# range. Thank you much!

If you want a good bow you can trust for hunting, I would recommend using fiberglass backing.

If you are interested in having a blank laid up that you can shape and tiller. Contact me via email. I could do something for you.   Kirk

James Parker of Huntworthyproductions sells bamboo backed and belly bows and bamboo backed Osage or ipe belly bows plus you could probably get one from him to finish yourself. At the Tennessee Classic James has a bamboo backed competition where he sells the glue up and assists you in finishing up the bow. On Sunday all who signed up with James competed against one another for a trophy.
 James also is building Hummimgbird bows now along with his own production bows plus his authentic Asiatic horn bows...and he is a flint knapper.

Undomesticated -- I would go with KirkII.   He's on here regularly, and from what I've seen makes some great bows.  I'm sure he'll put together what you want in a U-finish project bow....

PatB.   I have tried off and on over the years to connect with James Parker/Huntworthy Productions about several projects, and never had any luck.  Email addresses are bad, etc.  When you posted about him today I immediately set out once again to get some detailed information.  His Sponsor ad here at Tradgang gives a website address but when I entered it, I discovered that "the website does not exist at this time" at that host.   The only online presence I can find is a Farcebook Page with a handful of un-captioned bow photos, a number of YouTube vids, and accounts at Twit and Instacrap that I don't belong to.   

Ken, thanks for the heads up. I didn't know his website wasn't working. I'll contact James and find out what's up. I spent much of my time at the Tennessee Classic with him. I've known James for 30 years.

Quote from: Kirkll on May 05, 2026, 11:40:42 AMIf you want a good bow you can trust for hunting, I would recommend using fiberglass backing.

If you are interested in having a blank laid up that you can shape and tiller. Contact me via email. I could do something for you.  Kirk

Hello, Kirk. I have several fiberglass backed bows, and that is what I normally use for hunting due to the durability/reliability you mention. The BBO is more of a fun project/experience. I don't care to ever work with fiberglass laminations, epoxy glue-ups, sanding fiberglass, etc. I leave that to the professionals such as yourself.


Funnily, I have been wanting a static-limb recurve and have been looking at your bows A LOT!

https://meadowlarkag.com/

i can make one too